Robert Gottlieb: the editor who changed American literature

The man who ushered classics like Catch-22 into the world, Gottlieb has reason to brag. But in his new memoir Avid Reader he prefers to downplay the editor’s role Joseph Heller, the author of Catch-22, once gave an interview where he credited his editor with kicking his work into shape. After the interview ran, Heller got an irritated phone call. The caller was his editor, Robert Gottlieb. Gottlieb told Heller to knock it off. “I felt then, and still do, that readers shouldn’t be made aware of editorial interventions,” Gottlieb writes in his new memoir, Avid Reader: A Life. “They have a right to feel that what they’re reading comes direct from the author to them.”Gottlieb’s book is full of stories like that one. He is a very unassuming person, for an alleged legend – a characterization he laughs at to me, saying his daughter pokes fun at him for so often being called it. Yet beginning at Simon & Schuster in the 1950s and 1960s, flourishing at Knopf in the 1970s and 1980s, and with a brief but memorable detour to the New Yorker (as an editor), Gottlieb’s editing pen has touched the manuscripts of most of the important American writers of the 20th century – and several of the British ones, too. He did it, though, as much from behind the scenes as he possibly could. “I’ve given very few interviews,” he told me when I met him at his book-lined townhouse on New York’s East Side. He is only giving this one now, he says, because he needs to help the publisher sell his book. ... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2016-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #avid reader #simon schuster #20th century

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Robert Gottlieb: the editor who changed American literature'


Our Daily Bread Adds Two Editors

Non-denominational Christian publisher Our Daily Bread is expanding its editorial staff with Katara Patton, senior editor, and Joel Armstrong, content editor and product developer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #daily bread #editorial staff #senior editor


Nobel Literature Prize 2021: Abdulrazak Gurnah on the moment he found out he won

Abdulrazak Gurnah found out about his win over the phone but initially thought it was a cold caller. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2021-10-07 22:36:48 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #abdulrazak gurnah #initially thought #literature prize


Abdulrazak Gurnah wins the Nobel prize in literature for 2021

His novels and short stories are populated with refugees from war, colonialism and historical injustice Continue reading at The Economist

[ The Economist | 2021-10-07 16:46:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nobel prize #short stories


Nobel Prize in literature awarded to Abdulrazak Gurnah

The Swedish Academy awarded the prize to the Tanzanian author whose English-language novels include “Paradise,” “By the Sea” and “Desertion.” Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-07 11:03:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nobel prize #abdulrazak gurnah


Abdulrazak Gurnah Wins 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature

The U.K.-based English-language Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah has won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature for “his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” He is the fifth... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-07 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nobel prize #past decade


The Asian American Writers Workshop Turns 30

The Asian American Writers Workshop is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a series of signature digital events and a three-month fundraising campaign. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #30th anniversary


In the pandemic stories of everyday Americans, fear and grief feel fresh again

A heart-wrenching collection by Eli Saslow arrives as numbness to the crisis sets in. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2021-10-01 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pandemic stories


Chelsea Green launches food and farming literature festival with FarmED

Independent press Chelsea Green Publishing is partnering with not-for-profit organisation FarmED to launch a food and farming literature festival, in what is said to be a first for the industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-30 10:10:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literature festival


‘Turbo-charge a legacy newsroom’: A Q&A with Fortune’s new editor in chief Alyson Shontell

Alyson Shontell discusses bringing her digital media experience to a legacy publisher, her goals to 'turbo-charge' its subscriptions business and use of data, and what it's like to be the first woman to take on the role. The post ‘Turbo-charge a legacy newsroom’: A Q&A with Fortune’s new... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2021-09-28 04:01:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #legacy publisher #digital media


Breaking out beyond the niche: ‘disabled literature’ should inform the mainstream

Author Frances Ryan shares her experiences of publicising her book, for which she fought to appear on mainstream political shows to flag the issues disabled people face Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-26 10:06:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Sustainable is the new black: top editors launch new-wave fashion titles

Glossy magazines get a makeover with focus on vintage clothing, creativity and recycling Former editors and directors at Britain’s glossiest fashion magazines are carving out a niche for themselves with print titles and websites that focus on sustainable clothing.Later this month, Calendar will... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-09-26 05:45:03 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #glossy magazines #live online #fashion industry #art director #british vogue #kate moss #print titles


The Bookseller's Disability Issue: 'trade can bring real change'

The Bookseller's Disability Issue is published today, guest-edited by author Claire Wade who has called on the trade to harness its adaptability to bring real change for people with disabilities. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-24 08:30:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


For American Agents, It’s Another Year of Managing the Frankfurt Book Fair from Home

For American agents, the 2021 Frankfurt Book Fair brings another year of hoping, and waiting, for the real thing. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #real thing #frankfurt book fair


Holly Smale | 'Change happens one story at a time, reminding the world what autism is from the inside'

Holly Smale, bestselling author of the Geek Girl series, discusses how autistic characters, and authors, should no longer be seen as ‘niche’ Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-23 18:27:19 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #holly smale #bestselling author


Bullshit Saviors: Helen Benedict and Nadia Hashimi on Depictions of the American Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq

Novelists Nadia Hashimi and Helen Benedict join hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the mistakes American writers and culture made in depicting the United States’ wars Iraq and Afghanistan. In the wake of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and President Biden’s decision to pull US... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-23 08:49:21 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #whitney terrell #20th anniversary #president biden #american fiction #novelists


Haruki Murakami makes friends with Americans by wearing his “I Put Ketchup On My Ketchup” shirt.

Haruki Murakami is a collector: of vinyl records, T-shirts, and short stories (ha ha ha). He’s donated his collection of over 10,000 vinyl records to Waseda University, but keeps his T-shirts in cardboard boxes at his home. According to Murakami, his collection came about somewhat by accident:... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-21 16:25:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #haruki murakami #vinyl records #short stories


A Guide To Finding The Best Free Online English Literature Courses

A guide that can serve as a starting point to help you find interesting, relevant and fascinating free online english literature courses. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-09-21 10:40:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #starting point #english literature


This book explains actually helpful actions you can take to fight climate change

You may be sick of hearing over and over to recycle more or use a reusable bag. A new book called ‘Regeneration’ explains how you can support the changes that are truly needed. There’s one clear antidote for climate anxiety: If you can take strategic steps to address climate change, it begins to... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2021-09-21 07:00:55 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book explains #climate anxiety #move fast #real time


Jason Reynolds will serve a third term as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Today, the Library of Congress announced that bestselling author Jason Reynolds will serve as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for a third year. Reynolds’s extended appointment is an unprecedented event in the history of the program. The position, which was established in 2008,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-09-20 15:03:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #jason reynolds #national ambassador #unprecedented event #bestselling author